The possibility of a critique of domination in the theory of Luc Boltanski
In: Filozofija i društvo, Band 25, Heft 3, S. 51-76
ISSN: 2334-8577
The author examines the possibility for a rapprochement between Luc
Boltanski?s sociology of critique and Bourdieu?s critical sociology of
domination by analyzing three subjects within the theoretical opus of Luc
Boltanski: the place given to tests in the critical agency of actors, the
relation between critique and institutions, and the role the collective plays
in the appropriation and distribution of critique. In Boltanski?s works the
question of the sense of justice and the critical capacities of actors, that
is injustice and its critique, is approached with full respect for the
perspectives of the social actors. In his book On Critique the French
sociologist writes about domination, or more precisely, the process of
domination, but he doesn?t fully answer the question wether and how the
capacities of social actors for critique can be realized and elevated to the
level of a full-fledged critique of domination. This is considered to be the
main condition of the possibility for connecting critical sociology and
sociology of critique, so the analysis of the three mentioned topics should
76 determine whether the social actors within the theoretical world of Luc
Boltanski are relatively close to the stage of a critique of domination.